Gateway device, in-vehicle network system, and firmware update method

Abstract

A gateway device is connected to a plurality of electronic controllers on-board a vehicle. The gateway device acquires firmware update information, which includes at least a part of updated firmware to be applied to a first electronic controller, patch data, and information indicating where to apply the patch data. When the gateway device determines that the first electronic controller does not include a firmware cache for performing a pre-update firmware cache operation, the gateway device executes a proxy process. In this regard, the gateway device requests the first electronic controller to transmit boot ROM data to the gateway device, merges the patch data and existing firmware to create updated boot ROM data with updated firmware, and transmits the updated boot ROM data to the first electronic controller that updates the boot ROM data and resets the first electronic controller with the updated firmware.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A gateway device connected via one or more networks to a plurality of electronic controllers on-board a vehicle, the gateway device comprising:
 one or more memories; and 
 circuitry, that in operation,
 acquires firmware update information, the firmware update information including at least a part of updated firmware to be applied to a first electronic controller from among the plurality of electronic controllers on-board the vehicle, the firmware update information including patch data and information indicating where to apply the patch data, 
 determines, by accessing the one or more memories, whether or not the first electronic controller satisfies a first condition based on first information about the first electronic controller, wherein the first information is whether the first electronic controller includes a firmware cache for performing a pre-update firmware cache operation, and 
 causes, when the first condition is determined not to be satisfied, the gateway device to execute a proxy process, 
 wherein the gateway device requests the first electronic controller to transmit boot ROM data to the gateway device, merges the patch data and existing firmware to create updated boot ROM data with updated firmware, and transmits the updated boot ROM data to the first electronic controller that updates the boot ROM data and resets the first electronic controller with the updated firmware. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The gateway device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the circuitry, further in operation,
 determines, by accessing the one or more memories, whether or not the first electronic controller satisfies a second condition based on second information about the first electronic controller, wherein the second information is whether the first electronic controller is capable of performing a signature verification operation, which is determined prior to transmittal of the updated firmware, 
 causes, when the second condition is determined to be satisfied, the first electronic controller to execute a first process related to updating firmware of the first electronic controller, and 
 causes, when the second condition is determined not to be satisfied, a first device on-board the vehicle, other than the first electronic controller, to execute the first process related to updating the firmware of the first electronic controller by proxy. 
 
 
     
     
       3. The gateway device according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the second information indicates a processing capability of the first electronic controller. 
 
     
     
       4. The gateway device according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the second information indicates whether or not the first electronic controller includes a function of executing the first process, and 
 the circuitry determines that the second condition is satisfied when the first electronic controller includes the function of executing the first process, and the second condition is determined not to be satisfied when the first electronic controller does not include the function of executing the first process. 
 
     
     
       5. The gateway device according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the firmware update information includes a signature attached to the updated firmware, and 
 the first process is a process of verifying the signature. 
 
     
     
       6. The gateway device according to  claim 5 ,
 wherein when the second condition is determined not to be satisfied, the circuitry
 selects, as the first device, an electronic controller that is other than the first electronic controller and that includes a key to use for verifying the signature from among the plurality of electronic controllers. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The gateway device according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the first process is a process of saving pre-update firmware held by the first electronic controller. 
 
     
     
       8. The gateway device according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein when the second condition is determined not to be satisfied, the circuitry
 selects, as the first device, a second electronic controller other than the first electronic controller from among the plurality of electronic controllers. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The gateway device according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein when the second condition is determined not to be satisfied, the circuitry
 selects the gateway device as the first device. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The gateway device according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the plurality of electronic controllers communicates over the one or more networks in accordance with a controller area network (CAN) protocol. 
 
     
     
       11. An in-vehicle network system provided with a plurality of electronic controllers on-board a vehicle that communicate over one or more networks, and a gateway device connected to the one or more networks, the gateway device comprising:
 one or more memories; and 
 circuitry, that in operation,
 acquires firmware update information, the firmware update information including at least a part of updated firmware to be applied to a first electronic controller from among the plurality of electronic controllers on-board the vehicle, the firmware update information including patch data and information indicating where to apply the patch data, 
 determines, by accessing the one or more memories, whether or not the first electronic controller satisfies a first condition based on first information about the first electronic controller, wherein the first information is whether the first electronic controller includes a firmware cache for performing a pre-update firmware cache operation, and 
 causes, when the first condition is determined not to be satisfied, the gateway device to execute a proxy process, 
 wherein the gateway device requests the first electronic controller to transmit boot ROM data to the gateway device, merges the patch data and existing firmware to create updated boot ROM data with updated firmware, and transmits the updated boot ROM data to the first electronic controller that updates the boot ROM data and resets the first electronic controller with the updated firmware. 
 
 
     
     
       12. A method used in an in-vehicle network system provided with a plurality of electronic controllers on-board a vehicle that communicate over one or more networks, the method comprising:
 acquiring firmware update information, the firmware update information including at least a part of updated firmware to be applied to a first electronic controller from among the plurality of electronic controllers, the firmware update information including patch data and information indicating where to apply the patch data; 
 determining, by accessing the one or more memories, whether or not the first electronic controller satisfies a first condition based on first information about the first electronic controller, wherein the first information is whether the first electronic controller includes a firmware cache for performing a pre-update firmware cache operation; and 
 causing, when the first condition is determined not to be satisfied, the gateway device to execute a proxy process, 
 wherein the gateway device requests the first electronic controller to transmit boot ROM data to the gateway device, merges the patch data and existing firmware to create updated boot ROM data with updated firmware, and transmits the updated boot ROM data to the first electronic controller that updates the boot ROM data and resets the first electronic controller with the updated firmware.